History of Art (Postgraduate Certificate)

Year of entry

Start date

Location

Status

Duration

One year part-time

Attendance

One evening a week part-time, October to September

History of art is a rich and dynamic discipline, combining the rigorous investigation of the visual arts with the creative exploration of their connections to culture, politics and society. Postgraduate study in this area trains you at a high level in looking at, thinking about and researching art and its histories.

The Postgraduate Certificate exposes you to key art historical approaches, and allows you to focus in depth on an area and period of particular interest to you, in early or modern (including contemporary) periods, through one taught option module (see an indicative list of modules under 'Course structure' below). The course develops your visual acuity and your understanding of art's histories, while stimulating critical debate and stretching your research skills. In addition to independent written work, you will take part in group discussion, give oral presentations and engage with the Department of History of Art's research culture.

This course offers you the opportunity to study with internationally recognised experts. Our teaching staff are defining the field, conducting ground-breaking research in periods from medieval to contemporary, focusing on painting, sculpture, print culture, architecture, photography, digital art and museology. You will work closely with our staff while also benefiting from our diverse and vibrant student body of all ages and backgrounds. The teaching programme is enriched by museum and site visits, visiting speakers, screenings and opportunities to get involved as volunteers in research and community outreach activities.

This course comprises two of the modules from the corresponding MA programme. It is ideal if you are interested in studying history of art at postgraduate level for personal or professional reasons, but you don't want to commit to a full MA. This flexible part-time evening study course allows you to explore your passion for the history of art and you can go on to complete our Postgraduate Diploma or MA History of Art, if you wish.

Highlights

Arts and humanities courses at Birkbeck are ranked third best in London and 13th in the UK in the Times Higher Education 2016-17 World University Subject Rankings. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Art and Design at Birkbeck achieved 100% for a research environment supporting world-leading and internationally excellent research.

As a student at Birkbeck, you will be able to attend a wide range of events, including:

the postgraduate Research Seminar, which brings art historians from all over the UK and beyond to speak at Birkbeck

the biennial Murray Lecture

the Murray Seminar on Medieval and Renaissance Art

the programme of exhibitions and displays at the Peltz Gallery, the School of Arts' purpose-built exhibition space.

other seminars and events across the School of Arts and at the Birkbeck Institute for Humanities.

You can also get access to an incredible range of resources, including:

the Birkbeck Library and our inhouse resources centre

specialist libraries in the University of London: University of London Library, Institute of Historical Research, Warburg Institute and School of Oriental and African Studies

the major national resource of the British Library

specialist art libraries not far from Birkbeck, including the library of the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Royal Institute of British Architects library and the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)the great visual resources of the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern and V&A

temporary exhibition galleries like the Barbican Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Hayward Gallery and Royal Academy

Course structure

The programme consists of a combination of a compulsory module and one option module. These assessed elements are supported by a series of research skills workshops.

The compulsory module, Current Approaches to History of Art, is designed to explore methodologies and issues involved in the current study of the discipline (around such topics as exhibition, reception and interdisciplinarity).

The option module allow you to pursue specific interests and areas of research in selected topics from the the medieval period to the present.

The option modules listed below are a selection of those offered in past years. Please get in touch with the admissions tutor, Patrizia Di Bello, with any queries about option modules for the current academic year, which term and evening each option is offered, and the process for choosing your option modules.

Entry requirements

Good honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent (for example, professional experience).

For students with a degree in a subject other than history of art, the one-year part-time Graduate Certificate in History of Art and Architecture can be used as a conversion course. Students who successfully complete the graduate certificate with merit will normally be guaranteed a place on this programme. If you are in this position, you do not need to complete an admissions exercise.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this programme is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 7.0, with not less than 6.5 in each of the sub-tests.

Credits and Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

If you have studied at university previously, you may have accumulated credits through the modules you studied.
It may be possible to transfer these credits from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.
You should discuss this with the Programme Director when you are making your application.

FEES

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their programme. Tuition fees for students continuing on their programme in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

On this programme, you will also have to pay for the following additional costs:

An optional field trip is available as part of this programme, for which the Department does not charge a fee for attendance. Students are, however, responsible for paying all other costs, including travel, accommodation, food and drink and other subsistence costs, gallery fees, etc. The Murray Bequest offers a limited number of bursaries every year to students who would not otherwise be able to take the field trip. Details on how to apply are usually circulated to students in December or January.

Teaching

At Birkbeck, almost all of our courses are taught in the evening and our teaching is designed to support
students who are juggling evening study with work and other daytime commitments. We actively encourage
innovative and engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience.
In the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), the government’s system for rating university teaching,
Birkbeck was allocated a Silver award.

Teaching may include formal lectures, seminars, and practical classes and tutorials. Formal lectures are
used in most degree programmes to give an overview of a particular field of study. They aim to provide
the stimulus and the starting point for deeper exploration of the subject during your own personal reading.

Seminars give you the chance to explore a specific aspect of your subject in depth and to discuss and
exchange ideas with fellow students. They typically require preparatory study.

In addition, you will have timetabled meetings with your Personal Tutor.

Timetables

Timetables are usually available from September onwards and you can access your personalised timetable via your
My Birkbeck Profile online (if you have been invited to enrol).

Indicative class size

Class sizes vary, depending on your course, the module you are undertaking, and the method of teaching.
For example, lectures are presented to large groups, with 30 to 100+ students in attendance, whereas
seminars usually consist of small, interactive groups of 10 to 30 students, led by an academic.

Academic support

Birkbeck offers study and learning support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed.
Our Learning Development Service can
help you in the following areas:

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework
and examinations. You will be given time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

Unseen written examinations are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June, and, in most cases, are
held during the day on a weekday – if you have daytime commitments, you will need to make arrangements for
daytime attendance. Exam timetables are published online in March each year.

Methods of assessment on this course

Feedback

As well as a mark for your coursework and exams, you will also receive feedback from your marker(s) to help you
learn, improve and succeed. We encourage you to discuss feedback with your module tutor.

Feedback can come in different forms: notes via Moodle (our online learning environment); a paper copy of a
completed feedback form; or in-class or face-to-face feedback.
The College Policy
on Feedback on Assessment sets out what you can expect from your feedback.

Your department will usually provide you with your marked coursework within four weeks of submission. Your
initial mark is provisional until the relevant Board of Examiners has confirmed it.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue careers in the creative arts, media and education. Possible professions include museum/gallery curator, arts administrator, or advertising account executive. This degree may also be useful in becoming a community arts worker, multimedia specialist, or higher education lecturer.

We offer a comprehensive Careers and Employability Service to help you advance your career, while our in-house, professional recruitment consultancy, Birkbeck Talent, works with London’s top employers to help you gain work experience that fits in with your evening studies.